Video 34: Doppelkonnektoren and Formal/Informal Schreiben Conventions

Source: Roughly 1 hour 52 minutes total; large stretches are silence/filler ("Thank you" placeholders). Approximate topic ranges:

• 00:00–03:01 — Silence/opening logistics (answer sheets, last week's question paper) — skipped
• 03:01–05:19 — Logistics: today's plan (double connectors, Schreiben, review of last Monday's question paper) — skipped
• 05:19–05:55 — Silence — skipped
• 05:55–27:33 — Main grammar topic: Doppelkonnektoren (double connectors) for Schreiben — extracted below
• 27:33–31:17 — Silence/technical pause — skipped
• 31:17–48:33 — Formal vs. informal email/letter conventions: salutations, closings, du/Sie consistency, imperative sentences, indirect questions — extracted below
• 48:33–56:17 — Worked sample informal email (rejecting a birthday invitation), word-count/format guidance, and a list of "exam-ready" grammar topics to deploy in Schreiben — extracted below
• 56:17–end — Logistics: lesson wrap-up, Sprachbausteine plan, homework discussion — skipped

Topics Covered

• Doppelkonnektoren (double/two-part connectors): nicht nur...sondern auch, sowohl...als auch, weder...noch, einerseits...andererseits, zwar...aber, entweder...oder
• Comma rules for each connector and where words can/cannot be omitted (shared subject/verb)
• Formal vs. informal Anrede (salutation) and Grußformel (closing) conventions
• du-form vs. Sie-form imperatives and pronoun consistency in letters/emails
• Indirect questions (ob/W-Fragen with verb-final word order) in formal requests
• Exam tips: word limits, the four Leitpunkte, and a checklist of B1 grammar to use in Schreiben

Doppelkonnektoren (Double Connectors)

The teacher frames this as one of the most important Schreiben topics: without double connectors, writing "looks like A1 or A2," and a Schreiben using none may be capped around 60–80/100 marks even if everything else is correct, whereas using them well can push scores to 85–90+. Six connectors total — three take a comma, three do not.

1. nicht nur ... sondern auch — "not only ... but also"

• Comma is compulsory before sondern.
• Used as an upgrade over plain und when both halves are positive/equivalent in weight.
• nicht nur can sit at the start, in the middle, or after the subject — flexible position.
• Examples:
  • Ich lerne nicht nur Deutsch, sondern auch Spanisch. — "I'm not only learning German but also Spanish." (compare plain: Ich lerne Deutsch und Spanisch.)
  • Ich fahre nicht nur nach Deutschland, sondern auch nach Italien. — "I'm traveling not only to Germany but also to Italy."
  • Er möchte nicht nur zu Hause bleiben, sondern auch fernsehen. — "He would like not only to stay home but also to watch TV." (shared subject/modal er möchte is not repeated in the second clause.)
  • Wir sind nicht nur nach Paris gefahren, sondern haben auch viele Sachen gekauft. — "We not only went to Paris but also bought a lot of things." Here the two clauses use different auxiliaries (sind vs. haben), so unlike the examples above, nothing can be cut — both auxiliary+participle pairs must be written out in full.
• Rule of thumb: when the subject and verb are identical in both halves, you may drop the repeated part in the second clause; when they differ (different auxiliary, different verb), write both halves out completely.

2. sowohl ... als auch — "as well as"

• Conveys the same meaning as nicht nur...sondern auch — both halves positive, no contrast.
• No comma with this connector.
• Considered harder to use correctly than nicht nur...sondern auch — the teacher recommends defaulting to nicht nur...sondern auch if unsure, since mistakes are more common with sowohl...als auch.
• Examples:
  • Er trinkt sowohl Kaffee als auch Tee. — "He drinks coffee as well as tea."
  • Ich sollte sowohl in den Park spazieren gehen als auch Yoga machen. — "I should both go to the park for a walk and do yoga." (sowohl in the first clause, als auch in the second.)
  • Ich bin sowohl an Kunst als auch an Musik interessiert. — "I'm interested in both art and music." (built from: Ich bin an Kunst interessiert. Ich bin an Musik interessiert.)
  • Sie sind sowohl nach Italien als auch nach Deutschland gefahren. — "They went both to Italy and to Germany." (the repeated subject+verb sie sind...gefahren is dropped in the second clause to avoid repetition.)

3. weder ... noch — "neither ... nor"

• Both halves are negative — useful for listing disadvantages.
• No comma with this connector; noch is usually in third position (after the verb), weder near the start.
• Common mistake flagged: since weder and noch already carry negative meaning, do not additionally write nicht or kein anywhere in the sentence — the negation is already built into the words themselves.
• Examples:
  • Ich mache weder die Hausaufgaben noch lerne ich die Vokabeln. — "I'm doing neither the homework nor learning the vocab."
  • Ich kann weder die Hausaufgaben machen noch mich auf die Prüfung vorbereiten. — "I can neither do the homework nor prepare for the exam." Subject ich repeats here because it's optional to drop it — keeping a repeated subject is not wrong, just slightly less elegant; only the verb/predicate repetition is typically trimmed.
  • Sie spricht weder zu schnell noch zu langsam. — "She speaks neither too fast nor too slow."

4. einerseits ... andererseits — "on the one hand ... on the other hand"

• Used to express contrast — one positive point and one negative point (or two opposing sides) about the same subject, rather than always listing advantages then disadvantages in two separate blocks (described as "boring").
• Either half can open the sentence; both halves keep their own subject explicit (no obligatory dropping of repeated subjects with this connector, since subjects in contrast sentences are often different anyway).
• Examples:
  • Einerseits finde ich sie ganz nett, andererseits kann sie manchmal nervig sein. — "On the one hand I find her quite nice, on the other hand she can be annoying sometimes."
  • Einerseits hat er die Prüfung bestanden, andererseits spricht er nicht gut Englisch. — "On the one hand he passed the exam, on the other hand he doesn't speak English well."
• Called out (with nicht nur...sondern auch) as one of the two most important connectors to master for the exam — use nicht nur...sondern auch as the default replacement for und, and einerseits...andererseits as the default way to express contrast.

5. zwar ... aber — "indeed ... but"

• Functions as an alternative to einerseits...andererseits for the same positive/negative contrast pattern.
• aber always takes a comma before it.
• Key exception to the "drop repeated subject" rule: with aber, the subject must be repeated in the second clause even when it's identical to the first — unlike nicht nur...sondern auch, where identical subjects/verbs get dropped.
  • Correct: Ich finde Mathe zwar langweilig, aber ich finde das Lösen einfacher. — "I find math indeed boring, but I find solving it easier." (subject ich must reappear after the comma.)
  • Incorrect: Ich finde Mathe zwar langweilig, aber finde das Lösen einfacher. (dropping the subject after aber is wrong, even though this would be fine with other connectors.)
• Examples:
  • Mein Zimmer ist zwar klein, aber es ist gemütlich. — "My room is indeed small, but it is comfortable."
  • Der Mann ist zwar schon alt, aber er ist gesund und fit. — "The man is indeed already old, but he is healthy and fit."

6. entweder ... oder — "either ... or"

• No comma between the two clauses.
• Used for offering alternatives or suggestions — e.g. when suggesting measures the government could take, or alternative actions someone could choose between.
• Examples:
  • Ich lerne entweder Deutsch oder Spanisch. — "I'll either learn German or Spanish."
  • Er kann entweder zu Hause bleiben oder ins Restaurant gehen. — "He can either stay home or go to the restaurant."

Formal vs. Informal Letter/Email Conventions

A key Schreiben scoring point: identify early whether the task calls for a formal or informal letter/email, then keep every pronoun, salutation, and verb form consistent with that register throughout — mixing formal and informal markers in the same letter costs marks.

Informal (du-form) conventions

• Salutation (Anrede): Lieber [Max] for a male recipient, Liebe [Tanya] for a female recipient — capital L, and the correct -er/-e ending must match the gender of the recipient.
• Closing (Grußformel): use Viele Grüße or Liebe Grüße. Avoid abbreviations like LG, VG, or overly formal phrasing like beste Grüße in an informal letter.
• Opening line example: Vielen Dank für deine Einladung/deinen Brief. — using deine/deinen (informal possessive) — not Ihre/Ihren (the formal/Sie-form), which would clash with an informal letter.
• Imperative with du: drop the -st ending and the pronoun. Examples:
  • Ruf mich an! — "Call me!" (not Rufe mich an or the Sie-form Rufen Sie mich an.)
  • Antworte mir schnell! — "Answer me quickly!" (not Antworten Sie mir schnell, which would be the wrong, formal register.)
  • Schreib mir bald! / Gib mir Bescheid! / Sag mir Bescheid! — "Write to me soon! / Let me know!"
  • Ich freue mich darüber. — "I'm happy about that" — reflexive + prepositional object (sich freuen über/darüber), flagged as a step up from the more basic A2-level phrasing.

Formal (Sie-form) conventions

• Salutation: Sehr geehrter Herr Müller (male recipient) or Sehr geehrte Frau Müller (female recipient) — note the different adjective ending (-er vs. -e) agreeing with the recipient's gender, and every word capitalized appropriately.
• When the specific recipient is unknown, use the German equivalent of "Dear Sir or Madam": Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
• Closing: Mit freundlichen Grüßen — never close a formal letter with the informal Viele Grüße or Liebe Grüße.
• Opening line uses the formal possessive: Vielen Dank für Ihre Email/Ihren Brief. (not deine/deinen, which is informal-only).
• du forms like Lieber/Liebe must not appear anywhere in a formal letter — stay consistent with Sie, formal possessives, and formal verb conjugations throughout.
• Indirect questions are useful for polite formal requests — when a statement precedes a question (e.g. "Can you tell me..."), the embedded question becomes verb-final:
  • Können Sie mir sagen, wann der Kurs beginnt? — "Can you tell me when the course begins?" (wann der Kurs beginnt — verb beginnt pushed to the end, as in any subordinate clause.)
  • Similarly: Ich würde gerne wissen, wie hoch die Kosten sind. — "I would like to know how high the costs are."

Addressing parents (special case)

• For an informal letter to one's own parents, use the affectionate terms Mutti and Vati ("mom"/"dad") rather than the plain nouns Mutter and Vater — described as the warmer, informal way of addressing parents in a letter.

Other formatting/proofreading checks mentioned

• Capitalization of nouns is heavily marks-tested — every noun must be capitalized; this is treated as a basic (A1-level) rule but the teacher notes students still lose significant marks for missing it at B1.
• The first word of the email's main body (right after the salutation) should start with a lowercase letter (since it usually continues the salutation grammatically as one sentence).
• After writing, proofread for: verb position with connectors (verb-final after weil/während- type connectors vs. verb-second after und/aber-type connectors), correct conjugation, and consistent personal/possessive pronouns matching the formal/informal register chosen.
• Other connectors briefly listed as Schreiben-appropriate alternatives to und: außerdem ("moreover" — note: this triggers inverted word order, verb immediately after außerdem, not after a separate subject) and allerdings ("however" — an upgrade over plain aber).

Worked Sample: Informal Email Declining a Birthday Invitation

A sample informal email (responding to a friend's birthday party invitation that the writer cannot attend) was used to model the conventions above:

• Vielen Dank für deine Einladung. — "Thank you for your invitation."
• Ich habe mich sehr darüber gefreut. — "I was very happy about it" (again sich freuen über with darüber, a B1-level prepositional construction).
• Leider kann ich nicht kommen, weil ich einen wichtigen Termin mit meiner Mutter habe. — "Unfortunately I can't come because I have an important appointment with my mother."
• Teacher's tip on softening bad news: when declining an invitation, always lead with leider ("unfortunately") rather than bluntly stating "I can't come" — without it, the refusal "looks rude" to the reader.
• Wie wäre es, wenn wir uns in der nächsten Woche treffen? — "How about if we meet next week?" (a Konjunktiv II suggestion — wie wäre es... — flagged as reusable phrasing for proposing alternatives.)
• Dann könnten wir gemeinsam etwas essen gehen und deinen Geburtstag nachfeiern. — "Then we could go eat something together and celebrate your birthday belatedly." nachfeiern = to celebrate (something) belatedly/after the fact. könnten is Konjunktiv II of können.
• Closing: Ich wünsche dir alles Liebe und feiere schön! Viele Grüße / Liebe Grüße — "I wish you all the best and celebrate nicely! Best wishes."

Notes & Tips

• Word limit: aim for roughly 120–150 words; if in doubt, slightly exceeding the limit is safer than falling short. (The teacher separately mentioned ~180 words as a comfortable target in passing.)
• The four Leitpunkte (guiding points) in the task prompt must all be addressed — skipping even one point loses significant marks, even if everything else is well-written. If unsure about the content for one point, it's better to write something using related vocabulary than to omit it entirely — examiners need to see an attempt at every point.
• Subject line (Betreff) is optional in an email but recommended if included; everything else (salutation, body, closing) is compulsory.
• Double connectors are appropriate in essays/presentations (Ausdruck) more freely, but in a formal letter/email it would sound unnatural to write something like "not only...but also" — use außerdem instead as the main alternative to und in formal correspondence.
• End-of-class checklist of B1 grammar the teacher expects students to actively deploy in Schreiben: Infinitiv mit zu, Genitiv, Doppelkonnektoren, Relativsätze, deshalb, and Konjunktiv II — adjective endings were explicitly excluded from this list as "necessary but not worth separately counting as a topic," since they're assumed baseline knowledge.
• Recurring comma reminder: of the six double connectors, nicht nur...sondern auch, zwar... aber, and (implicitly) one more take a comma; sowohl...als auch, weder...noch, and entweder...oder do not — the teacher explicitly flagged comma mistakes with these connectors as something they personally lost marks for at the B2 level, so getting it right at B1 avoids the same error later.